The Cats talked with Franco about making this happen last summer, but he had a knee issue that would have hampered his ability to hit. Arthroscopic surgery last fall took care of that, and he's ready to go.

"I see a combination of him DH'ing, and if he wants to play a little outfield or wants to play a little first base, great," manager Mike Marshall told Sporting News. "He keeps himself in great shape."

Marshall played 11 years in the big leagues himself — nine with the Los Angeles Dodgers and with the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels, too. He was the starting right fielder for the 1988 World Series-winning Dodgers squad.

Marshall made his major-league debut in September 1981. Franco made his in April 1982, but because Franco is the baseball freak that he is, his major-league career concluded 16 years after Marshall's lengthy career ended.

"Everybody loved watching him play," Marshall said. "He had a real charisma on the field and off the field. We're excited, and as far as my young guys — I have a lot of young professionals here, affiliated guys — being able to learn and watch him handle himself on the field and off the field, I think it'll be a real bonus for our organization."

Franco will be with the team through the opening homestand, which was extended by the league from seven games to nine games when this was becoming a reality.

Franco made his professional debut in 1978 with the Butte Copper Kings of the rookie Pioneer League and played his most recent professional game in 2008 in the Mexican League, when he hit .250 as a 49-year-old. He has more than 4,200 hits in that span, and the Cats are hoping he snags a few more over the next week or so.

In fact, Marshall has a contingency plan if Franco is tearing the cover off the ball.

"I'm going to force him to go on the road with us," he said with a laugh.

Franco, who played five seasons for the Texas Rangers, is throwing out the first pitch for the Blue Jays-Rangers game in Arlington on Sunday. He's hoping this stint with the Cats could lead to a coaching job in affiliated baseball.

From the Cats' perspective, the opportunity to bring in Franco was a no-brainer.

"It was an opportunity for a win-win-win deal," said Scott Berry, the team's vice president of business development. "We get the opportunity for him to come play and coach for us, he gets the opportunity to show people that he has the ability to coach, and it gives him the chance, being back in Texas, to reconnect with some of the people in affiliated baseball."

The Cats, you'll remember, signed Jose Canseco last year, and he hit .238 in six games. In independent baseball, generating publicity — especially the type of favorable publicity Franco will bring to the team — is a good thing.

"It adds a little flavor. It's a grind in minor-league baseball, and when you have a professional like Julio Franco who's been around forever, it seems like, and all of a sudden he's on your team, it makes it fun," general manager Craig Brasfield said. "The phone's ringing, maybe when it wasn't ringing before. We have a good following here, but now I'm talking to the Sporting News. We've been contacted by the MLB Network. ESPN Radio's called us. It just adds to what we're trying to do, creates awareness for our club and gives us a good foundation to build our 2014 season."